YAML to JSON Converter
Drop a YAML file, get strict JSON — ready for any API client, config loader, or parser that refuses YAML.
Drop your YAML file here
Converts to .json — stays on your device
Why convert YAML to JSON?
- Feeding a Kubernetes manifest into a tool that only speaks JSON (some admission controllers, policy engines, or custom operators).
- Converting OpenAPI specs written in YAML to JSON for tools like Swagger UI or Stoplight that default to JSON input.
- Turning a GitHub Actions workflow into JSON to analyze or transform with jq.
- Migrating Helm `values.yaml` into a JSON fixture for unit tests.
- Passing Ansible inventory or variables into a Python/Node script that uses JSON.parse.
- Loading a docker-compose.yml into a tool that expects JSON (old CI/CD systems, some lint plugins).
How our converter works
Your YAML is parsed by js-yaml (the reference YAML implementation) and re-emitted as strict, indented JSON. All YAML types — strings, numbers, booleans, dates, arrays, nested mappings — are mapped to their JSON equivalents. Comments are stripped (JSON doesn't support them). Anchors and aliases are expanded inline. The conversion happens entirely in your browser — secrets in your configs never leave your device.
YAML vs JSON — when you need to switch
| Feature | YAML | JSON |
|---|---|---|
| Comments | Preserved in source | Stripped — JSON spec forbids |
| Strictness | Forgiving | Strict — quotes, commas mandatory |
| Typical consumer | Humans, CI tools | APIs, programs, parsers |
| Line breaks in strings | Multi-line block scalars | `\n` escapes only |
| File size | Usually smaller | Larger (quotes, braces) |
Frequently asked questions
Does it support .yml as well as .yaml?
Yes — both extensions drop on the same tool. The parser doesn't care about the filename; the content is what matters.
What happens to YAML anchors and references?
Anchors (`&id`) and aliases (`*id`) are fully expanded in the JSON output. The resulting JSON has no reference structure — each referenced block is duplicated inline, which is lossy but necessary (JSON has no anchor concept).
Does it preserve dates and timestamps?
YAML dates are converted to ISO 8601 strings in JSON (`2026-04-25T10:30:00.000Z`), since JSON has no native date type. Parse them back into Date objects on the consumer side.
What if my YAML has syntax errors?
You get a clear error message with the line and column. Common culprits: inconsistent indentation (tabs mixed with spaces), missing colons, unclosed strings.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Conversion is 100% client-side — your CI configs, secrets, API keys, and internal schemas stay on your device.
About the YAML format
YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is the dominant configuration format in DevOps: Kubernetes, Helm, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Ansible, Docker Compose, and OpenAPI all default to it. It's a strict superset of JSON — meaning valid JSON is also valid YAML — but with additions that make it human-friendly: comments, multi-line strings, anchors, references, and whitespace-based nesting instead of braces. JSON is the opposite: strict, machine-first, ubiquitous across APIs. Converting YAML to JSON is what you do at the boundary between a human-edited config and a programmatic consumer — a tool that doesn't speak YAML, a jq pipeline, a typed parser, or a unit-test fixture. The output is strict JSON conformant to RFC 8259: no trailing commas, all strings double-quoted, no comments.